Salary increases were the theme of the morning Tuesday as the Minnehaha County Commission approved a budget adjustment and pay raises for three elected officials.

The supplement to the current budget included more than $500,000 from the general fund. Much of that went to finance 7 percent pay matrix increases for county employees.

But the COIVD-19 virus continues to hit the county’s budget as well. Besides paying for staff increases at the Juvenile Detention Center, $118,000 was also used to cover overtime expenses caused by Covid. Overtime for JDC staff ran “significantly greater than usual,” according to a memo from JDC Director Jamie Gravett.

A closer look at the crimes of some of the women Gov. Kristi Noem commuted on Christmas Eve